Bottom Expectations

Do small chairs make a restaurant a "chick place"?

I don't think so, but I have a (male) friend who does, so when I'm in the mood for a place like Chez Foushee with its small chairs, I usually ask a female to join me.

Actually, today's lunch came about when I ran into a neighbor I hadn't seen in months at the neighborhood drug store. Right there in line, she immediately insisted we make lunch plans.

But she's only lived in J-Ward for three years and with my almost six-year tenure and penchant for eating out, she always defers to me about where to go.

So we ended up at the charming Chez Foushee and she fell in love with their dark wood bar and the decor the moment we sat foot in the place.

"How did I not know about this place?" she asked rhetorically. Considering it's been open for a decade and a half, I had no answer anyway. But now that they do dinner, there's really no excuse.

We walked in just after they opened and the sever who greeted us looked apologetic for the lack of bustle. "It'll get busier in a few minutes," she assured us as if that mattered to us.

So we took our window seats and did the girly thing ordering iced teas and salads. She had the potsticker salad, always a good choice.

I had the Foushee Market Salad, of romaine, red onions, shredded carrots, cherry tomatoes, marinated white beans, Manchego cheese and that loveliest of antipastos, artichoke caponata, with a  Balsamic vinaigrette.

As we sat chatting non-stop about what's been happening in our lives since our last meeting, the dining room did fill up as promised...with women. And more women. We never saw an actual man come in during our entire time there.

But our server was a male and after he cleared our plates, asked if we wanted dessert.

Begging off, he got mock-indignant with us, asking, "What do you mean you don't want dessert?" I felt it was a valid question, but my neighbor was a tad taken aback.

There are certain expectations in a chick place and apparently dessert-eating (especially after salad-eating) is one of them. Now we know.

The thing is, a girl's got to ensure that she still fits on the small chairs.